Customer Reviews

The Killing Game (Eve Duncan)

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I have read all of Iris Johansen's books and have enjoyed every one of them. In THE KILLING GAME, she has surpassed all the others. The reader's attention is caught in the first few pages and gripped tightly throughout the remainder of the book. I resented any interruption while "buried" in this book. Johansen allows the reader wider access to Eve Duncan's thought processes and "roller-coaster" emotions as she continues her search for the remains of her daughter, Bonnie, with the assistance and support of her loyal friends, John Logan and Joe Quinn. Quinn's relationship with Duncan is heated up a notch, which makes the characters even more realistic. The addition to the cast of characters of street-wise, tenacious little Jane MacGuire, crusty, reclusive Sarah Parker, and lovable Monty is icing on the cake. This is a MUST READ for Johansen fans!

This book deserved 5 stars but I deducted one star because I like "The Face of Deception" and "The Search" better (the 1st and 3rd of this series). The book continues from "The Face of Deception" where Eve, a forensic sculptor is residing in a private island with its owner Logan, attempting to stay away from the media and other disturbances due to her last adventure from the previous novel. However, she ended her temporary tranquil lifestyle and went back to Georgia when her best friend Quinn (a cop) comes across several skeletal remains, one of those a girl. That girl could be Eve's daughter Bonnie, who was killed almost 10 years ago by a serial killer and whose body was never found. Bonnie's killer was executed 10 years ago, but Eve has been receiving calls from someone who claimed he was Bonnie's killer and had eluded capture all these years. Eve's quest to find Bonnie and her attempt to save another child had left her no choice but to fall into the killer's gameplan. With the help of Quinn, Logan, and new friend Sarah along with her search and rescue dog Monty, Eve tries to work through the killer's lies and traps and at the same time win the inner struggle with herself. The ending was twisted and I was shocked at the identity of the killer.

In this book, the love conflict between Eve, Logan, and Quinn was resolved. Quinn's revelation on his feelings for Eve was very moving and touching. Eve also realized the depth of her emotions for Quinn. What a great couple! Through this sequel, the author explained more about their history and how they deserved each other so much.

The author shows Eve on a more personal level(compared to The Face of Deception): her quest to find her daughter, her outlook of life, and finding new things to live for. It makes her heroine more vulnerable and human.

Overall great thriller. Fast paced read. Can't wait for more character development in later novels of this series.

This book is perfect for waiting in line for the ferry or killing time at the airport. It doesn't take a whole lot of concentration and the plot is interesting enough to keep your attention.

While the title implies some pretty gritty stuff, it turns out this is more of a suspenseful romance novel than a grim murder mystery. Although the heroine is being hunted by while hunting for a serial killer, there aren't tremendously gruesome and gratuituous descriptions of the killings which is a relief.

The plot is moved along primarily through the use of dialogue which makes for fast and easy reading. And while there aren't a whole lot of surprises in here (I mean does Mel Gibson or Bruce Willis ever actually die in their movies?), the ending was a nice little twist and Johansen does a good job of defining characters deftly with minimum words.

Not a deep book by any means, but a decent and quick read.

The Game Continues (5 stars

Admittedly, I was a littleconcerned when I first started "The Killing Game"; within thefirst half of the book, I was unsure if I wanted to finish it. Following the discovery of an aged mass grave in Talladega, Alabama, which includes the bones of a child, Eve, who was asked to reconstruct the skull of the child victim, is contacted by the man claiming responsibility, who calls himself Dom. Dom calls her repeatedly, tormenting and taunting her, claiming that (in addition to the Talladega murders) he had also killed Eve's daughter, Bonnie. He threatens that another child, named Jane, will die in homage to Bonnie, as will Eve in an effort to save Jane. The intensity of Dom's taunting of Eve to this point was painful; I was hesitant to explore the extent to which he would use Bonnie's memory to manipulate and exploit Eve's vulnerability and fragility, but I kept going....

Eve must find and protect Jane, a street urchin who is as tough as she and nearly as closed-off from affection and love. Accompanied by her stalwart friend, Joe Quinn (and with the distant assistance of John Logan from "The Face of Deception"), Eve rescues Jane and begins following the game-board created by Dom, in order to save them all and to learn to live again.

Johansen has found a winning formula with Eve Duncan. Fans of the series will love this latest installment; new readers may want to look to her earlier stories on Eve Duncan, as "The Killing Game" doesn't offer much history, which is so critical to Eve now. I took to the series initially finding the details of forensic sculpting intriguing, but with each improving novel, I care more about Eve Duncan and her happiness. This work relied less on the nature of her occupation, focusing more on her motivations and how her past has shaped her present. I too want Eve to bring Bonnie home (or otherwise find some peace with it) and to open herself to love and affection. "The Killing Game", beyond its darkness, casts promising light on her future. Bonnie approves. END

This is my first book by the author, and it will be my last. I found Joe's 'protectivness' to be rather creepy. Eve, who is made out to be a strong and together woman, is easily influenced and breaks down often. The killer is obvious upon your first meeting of him. All in all, a very hard book to stay focused on, due to the irritating and shallow dialouge. Not a good read.

The thing about the plot is that it is excellent. And I can't say Ms. Johansen doesn't do a great job with it. But for me, the characters have to be credible and believable and if I am to have some identification with them, they have to feel as I would or at least, convince me to feel as they do.

Joe Quinn and John Logan seem to act like neanderthals around Eve. Acting like High School jocks in the football locker room at half time might even make more sense.

The woman Eve, a forensic facial reconstructionist, has had her daughter murdered, halucinates, is either having a breakdown or should be on meds, is about to put herself in the cross hairs of the insane serial killer Dom, and her two "best friends" are doing the testosterone tango. Tedious. Boring. Stupid. I can't believe caring men would act that way. And Eve is no better. The most dialogue the reader gets is the dialogue she has with herself and then, the lengthy conversations she has with her daughter.

I know Ms. Johansen is highly regarded and I am willing to assume these are my failings. It's just that everytime I started to like Logan and Quinn, they started behaving like cartoon figures. Sorry. 3 Stars. Larry Scantlebury

A story that has you reading non stop from front to back. Characters are well developed, and it feels as if you know them. You will fall in love with each character (love 'em or hate 'em) you just can't resist. When you think you've just found out who the killer is,twists are thrown in and your kept guessing. You feel every emotion that a human being could feel, and are disappointed when it has ended. Absolutely compelling.

Iris Johansen is a master at writing suspense! This book kept me guessing all the way through and I loved the twists. I'm glad the author chose to write another book with Eve Duncan as the main character because I was curious about what would happen to Eve after "The Face of Deception." I never would have predicted the end of this book. I highly recommend it.

One of Iris Johansen's best books yet...I was up all night to finish this book, the store is a definite page turner!

I NEVER READ NOVELS UNTIL MY SON WAS IN THE HOSPITAL FOR 3 WEEKS. I HAD READ ALL THE MAGAZINES AND WAS BORED, SO I WENT TO THE GIFT SHOP AND LOOKED FOR SOMETHING THAT CAUGHT MY EYE. I WASN'T SURE IF I COULD READ ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER WHO PREYED ON CHILDREN, BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE SO MUCH MORE.

I WAS HOOKED FROM THE BEGINNING AND COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN. THAT WAS FOUR YEARS AGO AND NOW I READ EVERYTHING I CAN FIND. THIS BOOK STILL REMAINS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE. I HAVE SEARCHED FOR ANOTHER BOOK AS WELL WRITTEN AND HAVE COME SHY MANY TIMES. I LOVE THE TWISTS THAT IRIS JOHANSEN USES. I ALMOST ALWAYS FIGURE OUT WHO THE KILLER IS, BUT NOT "THE KILLING GAME."
I ONLY WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THIS BOOK WAS THE SECOND IN A WHOLE SERIES BY IRIS JOHANSEN. IT DIDN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE WHEN I WAS READING IT, BUT GOING BACK TO READ "FACE OF DECEPTION" WASN'T NEARLY AS GOOD AS IT COULD HAVE BEEN BECAUSE I ALREADY KNEW HOW THINGS TURNED OUT. I REALLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK. IT IS SURE TO SURPRISE YOU.

BE REALLY CAREFUL READING SOME OF THE OTHER REVIEWS. I NOTICED THAT ONE OF THE PEOPLE ACTUALLY REVEALED WHO THE KILLER IS. THAT IS JUST LOW. BUY THIS BOOK, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.